CARgo: Speakerphone takes a licking and keeps on singing

Bluetooth speaker is virtually indestructible; New scooter great for cheap, slow transportation

By Lowell Conn

Originally published: January 24, 2014

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Strong speaker sounds good, too Most people who spend three bills on a Bluetooth speakerphone are not likely to dunk it in a pool, kick it around in the sand or drop it in a snowbank, but the Fugoo Tough is a product that is designed to withstand that and more. This Bluetooth speakerphone arrives accompanied by an exterior housing that’s designed to make the product virtually indestructible. Fugoo provides up to 40 hours of battery life, an omnidirectional microphone with noise cancellation and a digital signal processor to reduce wind and background noise. While drivers will turn to this puppy for hands free calls, it’s also got serious music chops with innards comprising two tweeters, two woofers and two passive radiators, all capable of 95 decibels. And although it’s perfectly suited for home, beach, office, ironman challenge, snowstorm or hurricane, Fugoo’s durable nature makes it perfect for in-car use, particularly by luddites who will throw it into the glove compartment, let it roll around on the dash and effectively treat the device in the less-than-delicate manner for which it was designed. $230; visit fugoo.com.

Slow rider It’s easy to be skeptical of the new Acton M Scooter which launched at this month’s Consumer Electronics Show after a development cycle that was funded via a Kickstarter campaign. This is, after all, a product designed by the company that brought us Rocket Skates, and with apologies to elderly fans of Roman Holiday, really, when was the scooter ever cool? But M Scooter does things that other scooters do not, featuring a patent-pending seat mechanism that allows it to be operated while standing or sitting. And it’s also designed for easy transport when not being ridden as the device can fold to less than half its operating size. The M Scooter is manufactured in California and so naturally it’s got zero gas emissions and is so efficient that it costs less than 10 cents per day to drive. It’s even got a storage tray for mobile phones and small items, but anyone worried their stuff will fly off during a high-speed chase can rest easy as M Scooter is only capable of 19 km/h (12 mph). $1,800; visit actonglobal.com.